Airedale Hospital staff who take blood from patients have a new image.

Members of the phlebotomy (blood collection) team are proudly sporting new purple uniforms. Previously the staff, who run a drop-in service, wore white uniforms with an aqua trim.

The team is part of the pathology department and every morning its members go round the wards collecting blood samples from patients to take to the laboratories for analysis.

Operational manager Anne Crabtree took over the running of the team a year ago and has introduced a number of changes.

These have included altering the times of the service, producing a leaflet to let patients know what to expect from having their blood taken and making sure staff are not left without support when operating alone in community and outpatient clinics.

Ms Crabtree said: “As this team is the public face of pathology dealing with hundreds of patients on a daily basis, they need to present a professional, caring image. Phlebotomy is a skilful job and members of the team need to be successful every time. This can become tricky when people get older or have a history of smoking as their veins become very difficult to find.”